Workpieces may be included or used in a wide range of devices (e.g. solar panels) that may be used in many technologies or industries (e.g. power industry, e.g. power application industry). The workpiece may include, or may be, a wafer (e.g. a semiconductor wafer, e.g. a silicon wafer) and/or a carrier (e.g. a glass carrier).
The lifetime, reliability and/or performance (e.g. electrical performance, speed, capacity, etc.) of a workpiece and/or a device (e.g. a solar panel) including or produced from the workpiece may depend on a uniformity of a thickness of the workpiece, which may be quantified by the total thickness variation of the workpiece. The lifetime, reliability and/or performance of the workpiece and/or the device including or produced from the workpiece may be improved in case the total thickness variation of the workpiece is reduced or minimized. In other words, a workpiece with a more uniform thickness across it may increase the lifetime, reliability and/or performance of the workpiece and/or the device including or produced from the workpiece. Alternatively, or in addition, the lifetime, reliability and/or performance of the workpiece and/or the device including or produced from the workpiece may be improved in case a thickness of the workpiece is at least substantially equal to a predetermined target thickness, which may be specified in order to provide longer lifetime, greater reliability and/or better performance of the workpiece and/or the device including or produced from the workpiece.
The thickness and/or total thickness variation of the workpiece may depend on processes performed on the workpiece, such as thinning the workpiece. Current methods for thinning the workpiece may not be sufficient to provide the total thickness variation and/or the predetermined target thicknesses that may be needed for the required lifetime, reliability and/or performance of workpieces and/or devices as technology advances. New ways of thinning a workpiece may be needed.